Billy Lee Riley
| Billy Lee Riley | |
|---|---|
Billy Lee Riley, Memphis Music Festival, 2008
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| Background information | |
| Born | October 5, 1933 |
| Origin | Pocahontas, Arkansas, United States |
| Died | August 2, 2009 (aged 75) Jonesboro, Arkansas, United States |
| Genres | Rock and roll, rockabilly, blues, country blues |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer, record producer, songwriter |
| Instruments | Guitar, harmonica |
| Labels | Sun, Rita Records |
Billy Lee Riley (October 5, 1933 – August 2, 2009) was an American rockabilly musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. His most memorable recordings included "Rock with Me Baby" and "Red Hot".
Born in Pocahontas, Arkansas, the son of a sharecropper, Riley learned to play guitar from black farm workers. After four years in the Army, Riley first recorded in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1955 before being lured to Sun Studios by Sam Phillips. He recorded "Trouble Bound" for Jack Clement and Slim Wallace. Sam Phillips obtained the rights and released "Trouble Bound" b/w "Rock With Me Baby" on September 1, 1956 (Sun 245). His first hit was "Flyin' Saucers Rock and Roll" b/w "I Want You Baby", released February 23, 1957 (Sun 260), with backing piano by Jerry Lee Lewis, after which he recorded "Red Hot" b/w "Pearly Lee", released September 30, 1957 (Sun 277).
"Red Hot" was showing a lot of promise as a big hit record, but Sam Phillips pulled the promotion and switched it to "Great Balls of Fire" by Jerry Lee Lewis. Riley felt that his own chances of chart success were compromised when Phillips diverted resources to Lewis' career. He had other Sun recordings and they, likewise, did not have a lot of sales as his promotion had stopped. Like other artists such as Sonny Burgess, Hayden Thompson, Ray Harris, and Warren Smith, chart success largely eluded him.
Considered good looking and with wild stage moves, Riley had a brief solo career with his backing band the Little Green Men. Riley and his Little Green Men were the main Sun studio band. They were Riley, guitarist Roland Janes, drummer J.M. Van Eaton, Marvin Pepper, and Jimmy Wilson, later joined by Martin Willis.
In 1960, he left Sun and started Rita Record label with Roland Janes. They produced the national hit record "Mountain of Love" by Harold Dorman. He later started two other labels, Nita and Mojo.
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